WEBVTT 00:00:02.569 --> 00:00:05.490 You're listening to the litter box a Detroit 00:00:05.490 --> 00:00:09.570 Tigers podcast with your hosts Chet West and 00:00:09.570 --> 00:00:20.149 Bill Patterson Here's what's on deck for this 00:00:20.149 --> 00:00:22.390 episode We knew that the bad days were gonna 00:00:22.390 --> 00:00:25.429 probably hit us and they have it doesn't matter. 00:00:25.429 --> 00:00:28.269 They're big leaguers They should have the advantage 00:00:28.269 --> 00:00:31.579 at home. Oh, yes. There's a story there I think 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:35.219 he can end up taking a starting spot. Talk about 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:42.619 Detroit's very own Ballpark Franks. Litterbox 00:00:42.619 --> 00:00:46.380 listeners of Your Detroit Tigers. It is your 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:49.340 host, Billy P. and Chet West. And we're coming 00:00:49.340 --> 00:00:53.619 at you with a six game recap. And we're going 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:55.859 to talk a little bit about our Motown Kitties. 00:00:56.140 --> 00:00:59.719 They're currently at sixty six and fifty. They 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:02.280 are six games up on your Cleveland Guardians, 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:04.840 which we will get to in a moment, but let's recap 00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:08.840 really quickly what happened recently. Last Friday, 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.459 they lost five to four to the Phillies. The bullpen 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:14.780 was just bad. If there was anything good, it 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:18.579 was Torres's three RBIs. Moving forward to Saturday, 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:21.680 the Tigers won seven to five. Tarek Schubel was 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:25.260 again good, so was Colt Keith. Will Vest was 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:28.540 awful. Let's move to Sunday night baseball. On 00:01:28.540 --> 00:01:32.340 ESPN, the Phillies took that 2 -0. Charlie Morton 00:01:32.340 --> 00:01:36.680 was good. Jemai Jones was the most positive of 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.159 any of the bats, but overall the bats were bad. 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:44.099 Let's go to Monday's game. The Tigers won 6 -3 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:48.439 back at home at Coamerica. Karp hit a bomb that 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:52.420 was awesome. Kyle Finnegan showed why he was 00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:57.299 a Tigers free agent wannabe. and definitely a 00:01:57.299 --> 00:02:00.659 trade deadline acquisition. The other thing is 00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:04.200 that Melton was pretty good. After that, I would 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.459 say two of the worst games the Tigers have played 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:08.259 have been the most recent two, which would have 00:02:08.259 --> 00:02:11.300 been Tuesday. And today they lost 6 -3 to the 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:16.240 Twins. And it was just bad. Paddock was bad. 00:02:16.460 --> 00:02:19.300 Montero was bad yesterday. And then today nine 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:23.620 to four Twins win. And Flaherty was bad. It just 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:26.639 didn't go good. He had five earned runs and only 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:29.819 4 .2 innings. And I guess outside of carp and 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:32.659 torque kind of upholding the offense, we're looking 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:36.680 at a team that's really hitting a skid. And if 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:39.979 you go, you know, last 10 games, last 20 games, 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:43.719 last 30 games, you're going to see a bar chart 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.659 or XY going in the wrong direction, which is 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:50.830 basically falling off a cliff. Chet, what say 00:02:50.830 --> 00:02:53.289 you? First and foremost, we saw this coming. 00:02:53.590 --> 00:02:56.530 Not to sit here and act like a Nostradamus one 00:02:56.530 --> 00:03:00.110 and two here, but we knew this was going to happen. 00:03:00.550 --> 00:03:03.669 It was just a matter of time. We knew they were 00:03:03.669 --> 00:03:05.590 playing above themselves. We knew they were at 00:03:05.590 --> 00:03:08.310 the peak. We knew that the bad days were going 00:03:08.310 --> 00:03:11.509 to probably hit us. And they have. I mean, they 00:03:11.509 --> 00:03:13.810 do still have moments where they look like a 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:15.949 capable baseball team. They're still in first 00:03:15.949 --> 00:03:19.250 place. Still six games up on Cleveland as of 00:03:19.250 --> 00:03:23.169 today, as of just now. I think there are some 00:03:23.169 --> 00:03:25.870 glaring issues. You know, the Philly series, 00:03:26.669 --> 00:03:30.729 I'll start there. They were competitive in all 00:03:30.729 --> 00:03:32.849 three games and they went up against some very 00:03:32.849 --> 00:03:35.229 good pitching in all three games. I would say 00:03:35.229 --> 00:03:37.349 the best pitching they've gone up against. Easily. 00:03:37.469 --> 00:03:41.689 All season save maybe the second Ranger series. 00:03:42.069 --> 00:03:44.770 I could have walked away from that series with 00:03:44.770 --> 00:03:48.879 the one win. and felt really good about it. And 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:52.199 we couldn't. We just couldn't because the twins 00:03:52.199 --> 00:03:56.219 come to town. We get a home series against you've 00:03:56.219 --> 00:04:00.159 got an injured animal in town and you can't take 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:03.060 advantage of them and get on the healthy train. 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:06.340 You got to lose two out of three and do it in 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:10.120 a fashion that really makes everybody question. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:12.819 Where you're gonna end up at the end of the season 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:15.580 at the end of a series like this. It sounds ridiculous 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:19.980 It sounds extreme, but I can't watch our new 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:23.379 acquisition of Chris Paddock Go out and get shelled 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:25.879 in the first inning against his former team I 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:28.000 don't care how hard that is to pitch against 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.480 your former team. I don't care how hard is to 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:32.860 hit against your former team I don't you can't 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.860 go out and get shelled against your former team 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:39.240 who just gutted their roster I mean, you're talking 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.360 about a team of, you know, you got Royce Lewis 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:44.699 out there still, okay? He's not quite performing 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:46.500 where they'd like him to be. You got a young 00:04:46.500 --> 00:04:49.439 guy like Brooks Lee who can do some damage. Luke 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.839 Kishol had a series to remember. He's their newest 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:56.319 and latest, greatest being brought up this season. 00:04:56.459 --> 00:04:58.920 And, you know, the rest of the guys, I mean, 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:01.480 nobody didn't hit today. But have you ever heard 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:05.399 of Alan Roden? Have you, is Ryan Jeffers ever 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:08.160 struck fear in your heart as a hitter? How about 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:10.779 Edward Julian, who has spent most of the last 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:13.680 year and a half down at triple A, and Austin 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:16.699 Martin, who has struggled, who can't seem to 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:18.879 stop hitting against us likewise, even when he 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:23.079 comes in as a pinch hitter. It's sad to watch. 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.759 It's sad to watch Chris Paddock blow up. It's 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.040 sad to watch Tommy Canley not be able to figure 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.500 out the relief role for like the last month and 00:05:31.500 --> 00:05:33.899 a half. We don't have answers and we didn't get 00:05:33.899 --> 00:05:37.310 any answers at the trade deadline. It I can see 00:05:37.310 --> 00:05:39.829 why the fan base I kind of wanted to play this 00:05:39.829 --> 00:05:42.490 like let's be patient We're still the game. There's 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:45.110 still a team that got to 60 wins first. We didn't 00:05:45.110 --> 00:05:47.610 get anything We got no value just like we said 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:49.449 there was no value to be had the trade deadline 00:05:49.449 --> 00:05:51.910 Unless you gave up a lot we were one of those 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:53.370 teams that decided we didn't want to give up 00:05:53.370 --> 00:05:56.269 a lot We think our prospects are valuable. I 00:05:56.269 --> 00:05:59.389 think they're valuable other teams had valuable 00:05:59.389 --> 00:06:02.610 prospects I mean Leo DeVries is nothing to sneeze 00:06:02.610 --> 00:06:07.319 at and the Padres just shipped him out for probably 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:09.579 the best closer in the game and a starter. So 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:12.959 let me wrap this up. I just get, I get disappointed 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.519 when I see our bullpen blowing up to the tune 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:18.040 of nobody can seem to get anybody out consistently. 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:21.939 Our lineup, our best hitter, Riley Green. I mean, 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:24.259 we could probably reserve 10 minutes in this, 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:27.779 in this pod just to talk about him, but he got 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:31.800 benched against a righty yesterday. That is unheard 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:35.620 of. Didn't play. AJ just left him on the pine. 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:38.300 How did he respond after getting benched against 00:06:38.300 --> 00:06:41.720 the likes of Pearson Oll? Yesterday, right -hander. 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:44.120 How did he respond? Came out today and struck 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:47.060 out three times 1 -0 for four. Way to go, Riley. 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:49.300 Way to show him you're the guy. Way to show him 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:51.379 you deserve that huge contract. No, thank you. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:56.259 Sorry. I don't know who we sign and we extend 00:06:56.259 --> 00:06:59.459 out of this batch because I'm not 100 % sure 00:06:59.459 --> 00:07:02.819 I'm that confident in them. going forward. They're 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:06.120 not competing when the moment rises, when the 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.079 occasion rises. So, yeah, Bill, you can tell 00:07:09.079 --> 00:07:11.060 I'm a little, you know, I'm waiting for Lions 00:07:11.060 --> 00:07:12.779 season to start at this point. I can't see how 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:15.560 we hold first place. So on that note, let me 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.860 give a plug to our sister podcast, Litterbox 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:23.660 Lions. Check the new episode out tomorrow. And 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:27.040 with that, let me answer your questions. No, 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.399 I had not heard of any of those twins hitters. 00:07:29.629 --> 00:07:32.730 And if I heard one more time from our announcing 00:07:32.730 --> 00:07:36.689 duo, which I'm sorry without Jason Benetti, I 00:07:36.689 --> 00:07:41.250 love Dan, but he Dickerson not not not not peaches. 00:07:41.250 --> 00:07:45.889 He is just not Benetti and there's a little rigidness 00:07:45.889 --> 00:07:51.449 and awkwardness between him and everybody. Like 00:07:51.449 --> 00:07:54.589 Daniela seems not herself. Andy Dirks doesn't 00:07:54.589 --> 00:07:56.750 seem himself and the team doesn't seem themselves. 00:07:56.790 --> 00:07:59.290 Obviously that has nothing to do with it. But 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:02.009 if I hear one more time, hey, they've never seen 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.689 these pictures before because they've been in 00:08:04.689 --> 00:08:06.769 double A and they've been in triple A check. 00:08:06.970 --> 00:08:09.410 It doesn't matter. They're big leaguers. They 00:08:09.410 --> 00:08:12.290 should have the advantage at home over every 00:08:12.290 --> 00:08:16.430 one of these guys. And I am hot with you as well 00:08:16.430 --> 00:08:20.250 for the fact that I look at this roster currently 00:08:20.250 --> 00:08:25.519 as it's constructed one through 26. And I don't 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.339 think it's better than the roster that we opened 00:08:28.339 --> 00:08:31.860 the season in Los Angeles with. We did not improve. 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:36.779 And I am just sitting here lamenting and ruining 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:40.059 the days when Bo Briski would march out in his 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:43.620 number four jersey and provide an inning and 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:47.679 two thirds of mow down baseball. Not swing and 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:50.399 miss, but he'd get guys out. And if I have to 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.299 see Tommy Cannelly go out there another time 00:08:54.299 --> 00:09:01.399 and do what he's done the last 35 days. I, I'm 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:04.179 about up to here, which for those of you, you 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:07.700 know, what I'm saying is I'm at Shaq O 'Neill 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:10.159 height, you know, seven foot six inches. I'm 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:14.159 fed up. I just put six inches of fed up. It's 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:17.940 now. Okay. So let's take a breath. Yeah. All 00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:20.000 right. I'm going to flip this around a little 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.070 bit. Kind of like you did last week. They still 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:24.950 are up six games in the division. They still 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:26.809 have many of the same players. They won those 00:09:26.809 --> 00:09:28.710 60 games to start the season, kind of jumped 00:09:28.710 --> 00:09:30.690 out and surprised everybody. Are we saying they 00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:33.710 can't do it? No, not at all. I have no doubt 00:09:33.710 --> 00:09:37.690 in my mind that they can circle the wagons and 00:09:37.690 --> 00:09:40.590 get this thing to the postseason. I am, I think 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:44.509 one of the things that is frustrating. At what 00:09:44.509 --> 00:09:47.690 point do you decide to start competing? When 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:50.549 do you decide to at least make one move to add 00:09:50.549 --> 00:09:53.610 a competitive piece? I mean, Paddock is what 00:09:53.610 --> 00:09:56.549 Paddock's been all season. I watched him pitch 00:09:56.549 --> 00:09:58.909 live earlier this year against the Cubs when 00:09:58.909 --> 00:10:01.710 they were in town and he got shelled. It was 00:10:01.710 --> 00:10:04.230 like a home run derby out there. Then when I 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:07.029 found out we signed him and his three and eight 00:10:07.029 --> 00:10:08.909 record or whatever it was when he came over to 00:10:08.909 --> 00:10:11.830 us, I wasn't excited. I said, gosh, this is filler. 00:10:12.589 --> 00:10:14.909 They signed a lot of filler. Hannah Fee got sent 00:10:14.909 --> 00:10:17.049 down. I don't know if you saw that or not. And 00:10:17.049 --> 00:10:19.070 Chase Lee, which should have happened. That should 00:10:19.070 --> 00:10:22.250 have happened. Okay. Hannah Fee, I disagree with 00:10:22.250 --> 00:10:25.289 Lee. Hannah Fee was struggling a lot. And the 00:10:25.289 --> 00:10:29.129 guys up aren't? Well, I was just about to say 00:10:29.129 --> 00:10:31.509 Hannah Fee got sent down. You could probably 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:34.429 pick from half a dozen guys at least that could 00:10:34.429 --> 00:10:36.690 get sent down in that bullpen right now. Everybody 00:10:36.690 --> 00:10:41.500 save Will Vest. And right now, Holton looks horrible 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:44.539 all of a sudden. What happened to Holton? Overutilization. 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:47.980 And they're not just overutilized? I think that's 00:10:47.980 --> 00:10:52.039 part of it. I mean, I also think that this is 00:10:52.039 --> 00:10:54.700 the third time, you know, they're facing the 00:10:54.700 --> 00:10:58.980 twins and in terms of a series. And I mean, I 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:01.539 think the cat's out of the bag. You can use a 00:11:01.539 --> 00:11:05.000 guy for an inning every series or maybe use a 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:08.399 guy. an inning and a half, three innings tops. 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:11.899 When you're pitching nine to 12 innings, the 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:14.580 third time you've seen a team, they've seen you. 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:17.580 They know everything you have. And we just don't 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:21.120 have guys that can get swing and miss. I think 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:24.299 what's really interesting about this series is 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:27.419 how our starting pitching put us in a hole so 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:29.659 early. I'm looking across at each one of these 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:33.120 games and we really, our starting pitching really 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:36.080 failed us. Absolutely most of these games between 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:38.539 paddock and Flaherty they gave up three or four 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:40.919 runs each to start the game off in the first 00:11:40.919 --> 00:11:45.019 ending or two you can't do that and Expect to 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:48.200 have good outcomes. That's not gonna happen I 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:50.200 sit here and I look at like, you know paddock 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:52.720 three runs in the first inning yesterday really 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.320 Against that lineup. Come on now. I think you're 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.059 being I don't want to say hard on him per se 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:04.590 I'm more disappointed in Flaherty because I thought 00:12:04.590 --> 00:12:07.549 today would be for your number two starter, what 00:12:07.549 --> 00:12:10.070 they're paying him, whether we want to argue 00:12:10.070 --> 00:12:11.750 whether he's a number two starter or not. We've 00:12:11.750 --> 00:12:14.549 done that all season. He's not, he's a four or 00:12:14.549 --> 00:12:17.870 five. The fact is today was the day to put a 00:12:17.870 --> 00:12:21.590 stop in it. It's a getaway game. So it's a midday 00:12:21.590 --> 00:12:24.509 game. America drew well. The weather looked nice. 00:12:24.669 --> 00:12:27.450 It wasn't too hot. It wasn't too hazy. The Canadian 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:30.610 wildfire smoke has been, you know, penetrating 00:12:30.610 --> 00:12:32.830 Michigan and all that. I'm not making excuses, 00:12:32.830 --> 00:12:34.429 but I'm just trying to paint the picture for 00:12:34.429 --> 00:12:37.129 those that didn't watch. It was a glorious day 00:12:37.129 --> 00:12:41.029 in downtown Detroit and Jack Flaherty just didn't 00:12:41.029 --> 00:12:45.090 have it yet again. And where I'm getting concerned 00:12:45.090 --> 00:12:49.750 is the same front office that traded Jack Flaherty, 00:12:50.049 --> 00:12:53.429 then re -signed Jack Flaherty, then just, I mean, 00:12:53.429 --> 00:12:55.850 fortunately they didn't decimate the farm system, 00:12:55.950 --> 00:12:59.809 but brought in a lot of dumpster dive. in the 00:12:59.809 --> 00:13:03.269 way of pitching both relief and starters, I'm 00:13:03.269 --> 00:13:05.509 dubious at best. Let's just say that. I tell 00:13:05.509 --> 00:13:08.470 you what, though. I enjoyed watching Troy Melton 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:10.909 pitch yesterday for two innings. Yes. There's 00:13:10.909 --> 00:13:13.769 a story there. I think he could end up taking 00:13:13.769 --> 00:13:16.929 a starting spot from somebody. But the way he's 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:18.789 pitched his last couple of times out. They just 00:13:18.789 --> 00:13:20.750 picked up Morton so they could move him to the 00:13:20.750 --> 00:13:24.309 bullpen. That won't last. Okay, we'll both know 00:13:24.309 --> 00:13:27.629 that's not gonna last. Let's see. So I guess 00:13:27.629 --> 00:13:33.549 the good news going forward is a lot of teams 00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:36.970 below 500 upcoming the Tigers still have three 00:13:36.970 --> 00:13:40.649 games against your Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles 00:13:40.649 --> 00:13:43.690 or whatever they're calling themselves who surprisingly 00:13:43.690 --> 00:13:46.070 were buyers at the deadline even though they 00:13:46.070 --> 00:13:50.600 are uh, well below 500 at 55 and 59 going into 00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:53.159 tomorrow or excuse me, Friday's game. We do have 00:13:53.159 --> 00:13:56.299 Scubal on the mound. So that might be nice to, 00:13:56.299 --> 00:14:01.000 you know, get a win in game one and then kind 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.779 of proceed from there. Uh, you've got Morton 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:06.019 game two and then you've got Mize game three. 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:08.399 And then what I think is going to be interesting 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:11.500 is the Tigers then traveled to Chicago to play 00:14:11.500 --> 00:14:13.960 not the Cubs, but the White Sox who have been 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:17.460 playing better baseball, but still. are the worst 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:20.379 team in the American league. And then from there, 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:23.440 they go to Minnesota to face the twins again, 00:14:23.899 --> 00:14:28.559 come back home to face the Astros. So basically 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:31.659 they've got three series against teams that are. 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:33.940 They had a nine games and nine games in a row 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:38.539 against scuffling teams. Yeah. And I think it's 00:14:38.539 --> 00:14:41.419 all there ahead of them. After that, it gets 00:14:41.419 --> 00:14:44.620 even better for the fact that it's Royals Athletics 00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:47.129 Royals. Yeah, and after that they don't have 00:14:47.129 --> 00:14:50.850 to go west again That is as far west as they're 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:54.009 traveling for the rest of the season to Sacramento 00:14:54.009 --> 00:14:56.389 to play whatever you want to call the athletics 00:14:56.389 --> 00:15:00.190 Vegas Oakland, whatever and then to Kansas City 00:15:00.190 --> 00:15:03.750 Kaufman and then come back To your point on the 00:15:03.750 --> 00:15:06.129 trade deadline if I can just circle back on yeah, 00:15:06.129 --> 00:15:08.629 go ahead I do think Oakland was the biggest or 00:15:08.629 --> 00:15:11.710 whatever Sacramento Las Vegas the biggest winners. 00:15:11.710 --> 00:15:16.110 I also think that San Diego one by getting Mason 00:15:16.110 --> 00:15:19.629 Miller and other returns there. Oakland's and 00:15:19.629 --> 00:15:22.490 the athletics are in a very different position 00:15:22.490 --> 00:15:24.750 than the Tigers are for the fact that they're 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:27.830 in the bottom of their division by a long shot. 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:32.590 They have a good crew of young hitters upcoming, 00:15:32.870 --> 00:15:36.169 add to it. got a, let's not say bonafide, because 00:15:36.169 --> 00:15:38.250 we never know with prospects, but they got one 00:15:38.250 --> 00:15:41.289 of the top three prospects in baseball. And things 00:15:41.289 --> 00:15:43.789 look really, really bright for them on the deal. 00:15:44.230 --> 00:15:46.529 But the fact is, I think the Padres look really 00:15:46.529 --> 00:15:51.230 good as well. And if I had to judge it overall, 00:15:51.470 --> 00:15:54.350 I wish the Tigers had been more aggressive. I 00:15:54.350 --> 00:15:56.590 was a bit. I don't want to give away the farm. 00:15:56.690 --> 00:15:58.269 We talked about that. We didn't want him to give 00:15:58.269 --> 00:16:01.009 away the farm. Not Padres aggressive, but but 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:05.860 they didn't get any anybody. Now, maybe that's 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:09.259 because again, I think that one is invaluable 00:16:09.259 --> 00:16:11.379 enough to get and Finnegan's been great so far 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:14.220 He's converted both his save efforts So that 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:16.700 one signing that we said was the only signing 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:18.340 that would probably make yeah that we were excited 00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:21.720 about so again I think you know August is gonna 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:24.460 tell us everything but if for whatever reason 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:28.320 chat the Tigers are neck -and -neck with the 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.860 Guardians at the end of this month. I'm saying 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:35.019 right now Put up the red flags push panic buttons 00:16:35.019 --> 00:16:38.019 this team will not make the playoffs I just don't 00:16:38.019 --> 00:16:40.899 see him circling the wagons after they lose this 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:43.159 lead I don't seem circling like they need to 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:45.960 stay out there as far as they can they need to 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:49.460 win every game against beatable teams I mean, 00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:52.259 I just you play the twins again. You need to 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:54.350 get two out of three at least You're going to 00:16:54.350 --> 00:16:56.370 go play the Angels. You need to get two or three 00:16:56.370 --> 00:16:58.570 from the Angels. Got to start winning series 00:16:58.570 --> 00:17:02.149 again. And they haven't done that in a while. 00:17:02.370 --> 00:17:05.950 No. So I think we're aligned in that. I think 00:17:05.950 --> 00:17:08.490 we're both aligned in the fact that we're glad 00:17:08.490 --> 00:17:12.029 that top prospects were held on to. I still think 00:17:12.029 --> 00:17:14.349 they could have dipped into the back end of the 00:17:14.349 --> 00:17:18.839 top 10, maybe 11 through 12. I know. Technically 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:22.259 in some you know circles they traded 13 or 14, 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:25.799 but here's the fact they needed to do more and 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:29.200 it's and I'm looking at this team and I feel 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:33.420 like They don't seem like the same group Because 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:35.819 they're not they're different individuals than 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:38.720 they were You know that won the first 60 games 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.500 and it's interesting that they were the first 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:44.680 team to 60 if they get to 90 I bet they'll be 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:48.299 the last team to It's possible. It's very possible. 00:17:48.599 --> 00:17:52.500 And, you know, what scares me is I think our 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:55.599 division, if they allow the Indians to creep 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:59.059 back in, KC is going to keep surging too, probably. 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:01.859 Our division becomes very competitive all of 00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:05.000 a sudden. And I'm not sure they can hold up. 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:07.079 That pitching staff's not going to hold up against 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:10.460 two surging teams. I mean, it's about ebb and 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:13.660 flow, right? So if we're ebbing when they're 00:18:13.660 --> 00:18:17.009 flowing, we got a problem. And so I'll be curious 00:18:17.009 --> 00:18:19.250 to see if they can circle the wagons earlier 00:18:19.250 --> 00:18:21.589 rather than later, because it may be too late 00:18:21.589 --> 00:18:23.890 by the time they do. They could go from first 00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:26.390 to third and out of the playoffs real fast. I 00:18:26.390 --> 00:18:28.529 hate to say it though, it sounds drastic, but 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:30.190 the way they've been playing for the last month, 00:18:30.309 --> 00:18:32.529 I mean, we kind of said, if you're going to have 00:18:32.529 --> 00:18:34.910 a bad run, have it right after the All -Star 00:18:34.910 --> 00:18:37.849 break, but this bad run's gone on for a while, 00:18:37.970 --> 00:18:41.890 it seems. And some of these, some of this is 00:18:41.890 --> 00:18:44.000 ugly. It's not like they're winning that many 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:45.920 games close. I mean, it was great the flag. I 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:47.980 said Philly series made me feel a little bit 00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:50.660 better. Even though we lost to we're close twin 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:53.299 series. I'm looking back on what happened. Yeah, 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:55.140 how do we just go flat like that out of nowhere? 00:18:55.380 --> 00:18:57.779 Yeah. Yeah. No, I felt good after the Phillies 00:18:57.779 --> 00:18:59.579 as a fan. You say you're screaming your head 00:18:59.579 --> 00:19:03.640 off. You try to stay level headed. But all right. 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:06.940 On another note, since we don't have a way ballpark 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:10.140 food to talk about, I thought I'd talk about 00:19:10.940 --> 00:19:13.880 Detroit's very own ballpark Franks, which that's 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:15.660 part of the segment of the day is coming up right 00:19:15.660 --> 00:19:17.880 here and wanted to not hear us cry. Just fast 00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:22.279 forward to this 20 minutes in. So I always wondered 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:25.539 what the association with ballpark Franks and 00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:28.480 the tigers was. And so I did a little Google 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:33.480 dive today and found out that it is Detroit's 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:35.819 like very own and they were the one to kick it 00:19:35.819 --> 00:19:40.220 off. And so basically Ballpark Frank is the most 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:43.519 consumed hot dog in the United States of America 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:52.940 with over 91 million consumed in 2020. In 2020? 00:19:53.299 --> 00:19:57.559 Yes. In 2024, they were the leading seller of 00:19:57.559 --> 00:20:00.440 retailer, which means refrigerated Frankfurters 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:06.880 with US sales of 222 and change million. And 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.920 Oscar Mayer, who we associate with being kind 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:13.279 of a Goliath in the hot dog market, was almost 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:19.059 100 million behind with 136 million. So originally 00:20:19.059 --> 00:20:22.220 it was Tyson Foods, Sarah Lee bought them. The 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:26.299 history is this. In 1957, High Grade Food Products, 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:29.700 a Detroit based meat packing company owned by 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:33.900 the Sloatkin family under the direction of Hugo 00:20:33.900 --> 00:20:39.369 Sloatkin. the CEO of it, acquired the exclusive 00:20:39.369 --> 00:20:43.190 contract to supply hot dogs at Detroit's Briggs 00:20:43.190 --> 00:20:46.450 Stadium, which became Tiger Stadium. In response, 00:20:46.990 --> 00:20:51.490 their sausage maker decided to do a specific 00:20:51.490 --> 00:20:55.809 formula that incorporated veal in a much finer 00:20:55.809 --> 00:21:00.869 emulsion, meaning the grinding of the beef, pork, 00:21:01.089 --> 00:21:05.779 veal products, which created a larger one eighth 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:10.619 of one pound hot dog in contrast to the park's 00:21:10.619 --> 00:21:15.059 previous one tenth of one pound offerings the 00:21:15.059 --> 00:21:20.400 product's popularity soared and in 1959 one year 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.700 later it officially became known as the ballpark 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:28.440 Frank it kept building in 1965 the company's 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:31.859 tagline took on they plump when you cook them 00:21:31.859 --> 00:21:36.329 why the feel in it And that was developed by 00:21:36.329 --> 00:21:40.549 the WB donor agency. Think Mad Men Detroit style. 00:21:40.549 --> 00:21:42.950 Then the product was launched nationally and 00:21:42.950 --> 00:21:47.589 it became the biggest hot dog. Obviously, you 00:21:47.589 --> 00:21:50.029 know, citing the statistics that I'm stating 00:21:50.029 --> 00:21:54.569 that we've seen. Interestingly enough, in 1985, 00:21:54.809 --> 00:21:56.849 a Cincinnati schoolteacher by the name of Bob 00:21:56.849 --> 00:21:59.829 Wood decided to visit every major league ballpark 00:21:59.829 --> 00:22:02.990 one summer and he rated the ballparks on one 00:22:02.990 --> 00:22:05.259 condition. Do you know what condition that was, 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:08.180 Chet? The level of hot dog that they're shooting. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:11.519 Yeah. His 1989 book, Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:14.599 and all the wieners in between. Guess what he 00:22:14.599 --> 00:22:18.740 ranked number one? A ballpark Frank with a little 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:23.019 mustard. Served on the stick is a dream fulfilled. 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:25.700 Served on a stick. Okay. No remember they used 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:27.900 to take the tongue dispensers like at the old 00:22:27.900 --> 00:22:30.619 school doctor's office and the vendors had a 00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:33.680 big vat of mustard from your steamed wiener and 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.259 then they'd slap it on and he said it's a dream 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:40.200 fulfilled and proof that worthy experiences never 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:43.220 die in the tradition of a fine baseball park. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:45.700 I find it fascinating that they plumped because 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:50.119 they had veal in them. Does veal have a plumping 00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:52.700 agent in it that causes some sort of massive 00:22:52.700 --> 00:22:56.440 girth to the dog? I am not a food scientist. 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:59.200 I'm just going off of what Google said. I think 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:01.980 it's the veal and the emulsion. I think there's 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:05.059 also something else that's added. I'm wondering 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:07.380 if men will start getting veal injections after 00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:10.549 listening to our podcast. Definitely. I think 00:23:10.549 --> 00:23:13.529 that's done probably. You and I are scheduled 00:23:13.529 --> 00:23:15.430 the advertising for that. Yeah, you and I are 00:23:15.430 --> 00:23:17.549 scheduled for early October. I want to throw 00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:19.789 something at you. So now that we do these food 00:23:19.789 --> 00:23:22.690 things, now that we do these food things for 00:23:22.690 --> 00:23:24.529 veal injections, of course, veal injections. 00:23:24.710 --> 00:23:26.630 I'm going to get my lips done first, right? So 00:23:26.630 --> 00:23:29.049 I can look like everybody on Love Island. Exactly. 00:23:29.269 --> 00:23:31.470 So now that we do these food things, I get I 00:23:31.470 --> 00:23:36.789 constantly get. texts, Instagram messages, all 00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:39.329 sorts of things from various listeners when they're 00:23:39.329 --> 00:23:41.490 at the ballpark and they're eating a dog. I got 00:23:41.490 --> 00:23:44.890 one this past week from my friend Glenn Fettig. 00:23:45.390 --> 00:23:49.170 He is out in Seattle. He's out at Safeco this 00:23:49.170 --> 00:23:52.009 past weekend and he sent me a picture of their 00:23:52.009 --> 00:23:57.049 sumo dog. Their signature style hot dogs. I just 00:23:57.049 --> 00:23:58.630 want to read a few of these things to you here. 00:23:58.910 --> 00:24:03.079 Sumo dog runs 14 and a half bucks. There's a 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:05.740 Mariner dog that that's kind of a no frills, 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:08.299 just a great dog. That's exactly how they describe 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:11.940 it. That's at nine bucks. The no frills, just 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:13.920 a great dog is probably the one I'm ordering 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:16.299 nine times out of ten. They have a sumo chili 00:24:16.299 --> 00:24:19.440 and cheese and a Godzilla dog. The Godzilla, 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:22.839 they call it. These are all 15, 16 dollar hot 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:25.759 dogs. You can get sides of chili and cheese, 00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:29.440 some miso mustard coleslaw. In case you ever 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:31.319 wanted to have any of that. Sounds delicious. 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:34.019 What makes a sumo dog a sumo dog? Is it bigger? 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:36.759 Well, I'm not 100 % sure, but at the bottom it 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:40.380 says it's Japanese inspired. Then they have the 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:43.720 pictures of it, and it just says, happiness is 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:47.799 a warm bun. And the sumo dog appears to have 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:51.980 seaweed on there, shredded seaweed. Nori. Yeah, 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:56.480 nori, as one would call it. All sorts of just 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.410 junk on this dog. Now, I'm betting it tastes 00:24:59.410 --> 00:25:01.930 wonderful. Don't get me wrong. What did he say? 00:25:02.789 --> 00:25:05.609 What did he pay? No, what did he say? Did he 00:25:05.609 --> 00:25:07.369 love it? Here's his review. I'm going to give 00:25:07.369 --> 00:25:10.289 it to you. It was lovely. Soft bun. Good toppings. 00:25:10.829 --> 00:25:13.910 Delish. Glenn, if you're going to do this, I 00:25:13.910 --> 00:25:17.250 need more. I need a video of you eating it. I 00:25:17.250 --> 00:25:19.230 need to see it spilling down the front of you. 00:25:19.490 --> 00:25:22.230 I need a little more out of you than that. I 00:25:22.230 --> 00:25:24.789 want some. Did you have the Godzilla? He says 00:25:24.789 --> 00:25:28.299 sumo chili cheese. Very good. Well, he skipped 00:25:28.299 --> 00:25:30.900 the miso mustard. He skipped the miso mustard. 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:33.099 He skipped it. Yeah, I don't think he went for 00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:38.579 the miso mustard coleslaw. You know, but what 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:41.359 I see when I see this menu is you can have lunch 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.680 for forty dollars at Safeco, apparently. That's 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:48.500 a beer is sixteen for a premium draft beer and 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:51.539 a dog is sixteen. And if you throw the coleslaw 00:25:51.539 --> 00:25:53.339 in there, you're at about 40 bucks with tax, 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:57.220 probably. So you want a mochi? That's $4 for 00:25:57.220 --> 00:26:00.440 a little mochi puck. That's insane. I hope the 00:26:00.440 --> 00:26:02.819 dogs were good. I would have just had the regular 00:26:02.819 --> 00:26:06.059 old Mariner dog, personally. I think that's where 00:26:06.059 --> 00:26:07.640 I would have gone. The rest of it looks like 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:10.619 a mess. I don't know that I want Nori on my hot 00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:13.920 dog. A little exotic for me. But thanks, Glenn, 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:16.519 for shooting these pictures over and giving us 00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:19.539 your experience here. And I hope you had a good 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:22.079 time at Safeco. But that was, you know, we get 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:23.980 these people writing and sending us food stuff. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:26.920 Yeah, I'm fascinated by most of it, but I need 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:29.960 videos of you housing these dogs and making a 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:33.299 slob of yourself. And if any listeners know why 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:36.380 the ballpark Frank plumps, please let us know 00:26:36.380 --> 00:26:38.380 because that would be good to know. I thought 00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:41.099 you just said it's the veal. According to the 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:43.279 website, but we don't know that. I mean, I'm 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:46.039 sure it's an additive. It's an additive. It's 00:26:46.039 --> 00:26:49.569 veal additive. I start putting it on all my foods. 00:26:50.049 --> 00:26:52.509 Does veal plump when you bake it? Does it make 00:26:52.509 --> 00:26:54.670 you plump in the right way? I don't know. Anyhow. 00:26:55.589 --> 00:26:59.009 I don't want to plump. I'm already plump in some 00:26:59.009 --> 00:27:02.180 places. Like, we'll plump elsewhere and not everywhere. 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:04.599 With that, Tiger fans, let's hope that we have 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:07.599 a really, really strong series against the Angels. 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:10.880 We need. We will be back with you series by series 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:14.059 going forward, and please tune in to our sister 00:27:14.059 --> 00:27:17.539 pod, the Detroit Lions Litterbox, which will 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:21.539 be released before this Friday's game against 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:24.660 the Atlanta Falcons. We got real creative with 00:27:24.660 --> 00:27:27.420 the name of it. Litterbox, a Detroit Lions podcast. 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:30.970 It might sound... Like another podcast you know 00:27:30.970 --> 00:27:33.869 and love, Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers podcast. 00:27:34.630 --> 00:27:36.609 We just swapped out the Lions and the Tigers. 00:27:36.730 --> 00:27:39.170 Got to build the brand. Got to build the brand. 00:27:39.430 --> 00:27:44.829 All right. Have a good one, folks. All right. 00:27:45.170 --> 00:27:47.009 That's going to do it for this episode of the 00:27:47.009 --> 00:27:49.950 Litterbox, a Detroit Tigers podcast. Thanks for 00:27:49.950 --> 00:27:52.190 hanging out with us. We're Bill and Chet. We'll 00:27:52.190 --> 00:27:55.099 be back soon with more Tigers Talk. If you're 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:57.700 enjoying the show, be sure to follow or subscribe 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:01.420 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 00:28:01.420 --> 00:28:03.920 your podcasts. And hey, if you got a minute, 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:08.200 leave us a quick review. Till next time, Go Tigers!